Cigarette Case Study

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Eric Garner briefly held his hands in the air but resisted officers as they tried to handcuff him. During the course of arrest, Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo places his arm around Eric Garner’s neck in an attempt to bring him down. Eric Garner said, “I can’t breathe” while Pantaleo’s arm was around his neck. Footage also shows Garner unresponsive on the ground and officers checking his pulse. Several minutes later, medical technicians arrive on the scene and again check his pulse. A bystander asked the officers if they were going to administer Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the officer replied that Eric Garner was breathing so there was no need for CPR ('I can't breathe': Eric Garner put in chokehold by NYPD officer – video, 2014). …show more content…
Although selling cigarettes is a crime, it is not a serious one. Officers should have exercised restraint during this incident. There were four officers there to take him down, these officers need some serious retraining if they cannot take a suspect down without using unnecessary force. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. “The cause of death was ruled compression of the neck, the chokehold, and prone positioning during the physical restraint by police” (Duncan, 2014). This is apparent on the video of the incident. The police and first responders did not seem to have a sense of urgency regarding the situation. A police officer should use the necessary amount of force to apprehend or subdue and stop when it is complete (Miller, 2015). Eric Garner was on the ground and Officer Pantaleo continued to restrain him. He yelled out “I can’t breathe” and the officers continued to subdue him. This incident sparked the retraining of all NYPD police officers about the proper use of force (Clarke & Lett, 2014). Pantaleo claims that he did not administer an illegal chokehold to Eric Garner, that he simply used a standard